☽ ▬▬ at nung kinantahan mo ako, tilang ba'ang huminto and oras bago pa'ng sumapit ang bangong taon ▪ and when you sang to me, it was like time had stood still before the new year had begun
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Bailey was silent. Then he blinked, and said, "Okay, what the fuck?"
"I don't like it anymore." Runa started gathering the pieces of ripped paper. "Don't bother to convince me to rewrite it."
"No—" Bailey hung his head. "Sit down, sit down, please," he told Runa, motioning to her shoulders.
"I am sitting down."
"Okay, then move back."
Runa did as she was told. Bailey climbed up on his desk and sat there again, as comfortably as he could manage.
Runa stared at him. He was always sitting in unusual places, and yet he was still able to get cozy. He had said that it was goblin behavior and that he wouldn't take that as an insult.
"So." He propped up his elbows on his knees. "I'm not going to ask you to write it again, but, if it makes you feel better...write a shorter version?"
"You were overly dramatic, you know, sitting down there, asking me to move back and talking to me in that tone."
"V."
"Sorry."
"I'm not saying you should cut off all contact with her. You do plan to greet her when she comes back, right? So give her a heads up or something!"
"Yeah, me, my dad and Lina will pick her up at the airport. What kind of heads up?"
"...A letter?"
"Bailey!"
Bailey looked away, regretting his words. "Man, alright, um...what about a short one?"
"How short?"
It was like a lightbulb turned on in his head. He hopped off his desk and pointed at his best friend. "It's your turn to be dramatic now, my dear Venice Aruna Beltran!" He boomed, speaking in an announcer's voice.
"Please don't say my name like that," Runa said, pushing his hand away so it pointed at his bed instead of her.
"Sorry. But, here." Bailey opened his drawer and pulled out a clean sheet of paper. He held it out to her. "This is the last of Liz's stationery."
Today was a long day. Runa was tired. She wasted her writing into the first letter. But...she wanted to talk to Maria.
A few moments later both Runa and Bailey were putting on their shoes, with Runa holding a sealed envelope. Inside was a sheet of paper, nicely decorated, but written on it was just one sentence: come home safely, i'd rather see you in front of me than in a hospital bed.
